Creating fixed-size VHDs in Hyper-V takes a long time because it needs to zero out the data. Click here to read why this must be done in secure environments.

You can create a fixed-size VHD much more quickly by using VHDTool. This tool lets you skip the "zero out" step and can be safely used when setting up a new server because there was no pre-existing data.

I've used SlickRun daily for the past 10 years and continue to recommend it to everyone. You can download it here.

FAQ

Q: I have a problem with flickering back and forth between SlickRun and another program.

A: In SlickRun, type quit.Click START > RUN > and type notepad "%userprofile%\application data\slickrun\slickrun.ini"In notepad, scroll down to the Jot section and add the following lines:AggressiveShowWindow=0 to the [General Section] of SlickRun.iniSave the File.Click START > RUN > and type sr.exe

"Hyper-V Server" is the free version that runs on Server Core. It has no GUI, but can be managed using PowerShell or by installing the Hyper-V Manager console on a workstation running Vista or Windows 7, or Server 2008.

You may get the following error when trying to install a Kaseya agent using LAN Watch: The network path was not found.

The process will use the ADMIN share, so first make sure that you can browse to \\PC\ADMIN$

The firewall on the remote PC may be blocking you from doing this, so try disabling it.

It may also be due to incorrect or duplicate DNS registrations, or incorrect NetBIOS resolutions on the server.

Check the DNS and reverse DNS records on the server for the PC in question. If there are any duplicates, remove the bad entries.

The run the following on the server:

ipconfig /flushdnsnbtstat -rRarp -d *

A member of the Kaseya forums mentions that before a deployment they always go into DNS, set scavenging to just a few hours and run it, then go into the reverse DNS section and delete all entries except the pointers for servers and domain.